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*** UPDATED x2 - Rooney looks likely *** Rep. Harris drops bid for Murphy appointment

Tuesday, Sep 13, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Since Gov. Rauner has involved himself so intricately with this pick, Rep. Harris was likely doomed anyway. Too much of a free thinker…

One of the candidates to replace departing state Sen. Matt Murphy of Palatine says he’s dropping out of the running.

Republican state Rep. David Harris of Arlington Heights told the Daily Herald Tuesday he plans to withdraw his name from contention and continue serving as a member of the Illinois House.

Harris, who was elected in 2010 and previously served in the state legislature in the 1980s and ’90s, said his decision was influenced by the seniority, committee assignments and good relationships with colleagues he has in the House.

The announcement comes several days after Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and a number of his allies held interviews for the six candidates interested in the job. Harris has at times criticized Rauner’s continued push for pro-business changes in state laws and operations without a full state budget in place.

*** UPDATE 1 *** From Rep. Harris…

State Representative David Harris (R-Arlington Heights) today announced that he was informing the Republican Township Committeemen from the townships in his area that he wants to be removed from consideration for possible appointment to the District 27 State Senate seat when the seat is vacant.

The local Republican Committeemen in the 27th District area vote on a weighted basis for the individual they want to appoint as a replacement. The incumbent State Senator, Matt Murphy, has announced that he intends to resign effective September 15th. The Committeemen would vote on a replacement after the office becomes vacant.

“I have thought long and hard about the possibility of seeking the Senate appointment,” said Harris, “and after much reflection I have decided that I want to continue to serve my constituents in the House of Representatives. Serving in the Senate would be an honor, but serving in the House is a great honor, as well.”

Harris added “I have excellent committee assignments in the House; I have positive relationships built up over the years with my House colleagues; and I have seniority in the House that I would lose in the Senate. All of these factors work to the benefit of the people of my House district, and they enable me to provide effective service to my constituents. I do not want to lose all those positive factors by moving to the Senate.”

There are several quality candidates that the Republican Committeemen are considering right now, and it is expected that a vote on the appointment could come very soon after the incumbent’s resignation takes effect.

*** UPDATE 2 *** From what I’m told, Rooney is pretty much a sure thing (nothing is ever 100 percent in this biz). More for subscribers tomorrow…

Republican state Rep. David Harris of Arlington Heights first told the Daily Herald he planned to withdraw his name. Less than three hours later, state Rep. Tom Morrison of Palatine followed suit. […]

Morrison threw his support behind Rolling Meadows Mayor Tom Rooney, who could emerge as the consensus candidate among a group of suburban Republican committeemen who don’t always get along.

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Supreme Court won’t rehear remap reform case

Tuesday, Sep 13, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Dennis FitzSimons, Chair of Independent Maps, on Tuesday issued the following statement in response to the Illinois Supreme Court’s refusal to reconsider its 4 to 3 decision disqualifying the redistricting reform amendment from the ballot:

With the Illinois Supreme Court’s refusal to reconsider its 4 to 3 ruling against the Independent Map Amendment, Illinois voters have been denied their right to vote on a constitutional amendment to remove politics from the way state legislative maps are drawn. Four members of the state’s highest court have rejected an amendment that we firmly believe meets the state constitutional requirements for amendments that can be proposed by voters.

Our bi-partisan coalition collected more than 563,000 signatures on petitions to place the amendment before voters and to allow voters to decide whether to change the redistricting process, which now gives legislators the power to draw their own district boundary lines – a clear conflict of interest and one of the reasons there is only one candidate running in 60 percent of this year’s legislative elections.

Unlike what they had done in every single similar case, the majority of the Supreme Court refused to consider transcripts of the Constitutional Convention debates, which support our argument that the amendment is exactly what the framers intended to allow citizens to do. They ruled on only one of seven arguments made by opponents and did not consider the other six counts – leaving those questions “for another day.” But that “another day” may never come.

We asked that, at a minimum, the court give voters guidance about what the majority believes is permissible in a citizen-initiated amendment to reform redistricting through a fair and impartial commission. Today, without comment, the court refused.

Our coalition remains committed to reform and believes an independent redistricting commission would be one important step in changing state government and making the legislature more responsive to the voters of this state. Whether that is possible through a citizen-initiated amendment is now an open question to be discussed by supporters throughout the state.

We are grateful to our thousands of supporters and contributors, to the many, many Illinoisans who gave up nights and weekends to circulate petitions and organize volunteers, and to the great outpouring of support from newspaper editorial boards and opinion leaders throughout Illinois.

Change is difficult, especially in Illinois government, but it is a battle worth fighting.

* From Gov. Rauner…

“Today’s court decision is very disappointing, but not unexpected. Now that the courts have denied Illinoisans the right to vote on a redistricting referendum in November for the last time, it is up to the General Assembly to address political reform - term limits and independent redistricting - as soon as they reconvene this fall.”

….Adding… ILGOP…

“The court again sided with the political machine against the people of Illinois who overwhelmingly support redistricting reform. Now is the time for Democrats to show their independence from Mike Madigan and pledge to allow a vote on the Independent Map Amendment during the veto session this fall.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe

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*** UPDATED x2 - ILGOP says look closer - Marwig says McAuliffe benefited from his own appeal *** McAuliffe is apparently part of the “problem”

Tuesday, Sep 13, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* We talked about this story yesterday, but the two big papers have picked up on it, so let’s revisit…

Bankrolled by Gov. Bruce Rauner, Illinois Republicans on Monday attacked Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan by raising questions about the property tax appeals business handled by his law firm.

The bid to muddy up the powerful Democrat came in a television commercial running in the Chicago area and aimed at re-electing state Rep. Michael McAuliffe, the lone city Republican in the House. His district covers portions of the Northwest Side, as well as the suburbs of Niles, Des Plaines, Franklin Park, Park Ridge, Rosemont and Schiller Park. […]

The new McAuliffe spot aims to boost him by demonizing Madigan, who wears three hats: speaker of the House, chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois and partner in a law firm specializing in appealing property tax assessments. The spot asserts that Madigan’s tax work is responsible for “saving his friends millions, forcing you to pay more.” It claims Marwig got her property taxes lowered “at your expense.”

Illinois Republican Party spokesman Steven Yaffe said Madigan is being used in campaign ads because he’s “never been more unpopular” and because “far more people are able to hear our reform message this year than in past cycles.”

* Tribune…

Democrat Marwig, a political newcomer, is challenging Republican Rep. Michael McAuliffe, who has been up on expensive broadcast TV with positive biographical ads for months. According to the latest ad, Marwig “thought her property taxes were too high,” and “got them lowered, at your expense.”

Appeals of property taxes are common, and you don’t have to be politically connected to file an appeal. But Republicans are trying to make the November election a referendum on Madigan, so Marwig’s property tax history is an easy way to try to draw a connection between her and the veteran speaker.

Marwig defended the property tax appeals. “Like many residents of the 20th District, I filled out and turned in a form to appeal my property tax bill on my own, without any outside help,” she said in a statement.

* Marwig didn’t mention it, or if she did her quote didn’t make it into the paper, but check out this October 28, 2014 post on Rep. McAuliffe’s website…

McAuliffe’s Message: Back to School Safety Tips, Property Tax Appeals and More […]

Maine Township Property Tax Appeal Seminar

Do you live in Maine Township and are you interested in learning how to appeal your property tax assessment? Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Dan Patlak, Cook County Commissioner Peter Silvestri, and I are hosting two free Property Tax Appeal Seminars for Maine Township residents. Dates, times, and locations are as follows:

Wednesday, September 10 at 6:30 p.m.
Niles Senior Center
999 Civic Center Drive Room 127
Niles, IL 60714

Thursday, September 11, 2014 at 6:30 p.m.
Park Ridge City Hall
505 Butler Place, Council Chambers
Park Ridge, IL 60068

The hour long sessions will educate taxpayers on how to file a successful tax appeal, provide information on property tax exemptions and address why property taxes go up when the value of your home goes down. Attendees may fill out and submit appeal forms at the end of the event. Analysts from the Board of Review will be on hand to answer any questions.

So, Rep. McAuliffe was enabling this vile practice of appealing one’s own property taxes?

I’m so shocked.

*** UPDATE 1 *** Merry Marwig’s full statement…

Mike McAuliffe is a hypocrite 20-year career politician who is so out of touch he believes local residents who appeal their property taxes are corrupt, even though he personally benefited himself from a successful property tax appeal on a condo he owned.

Like many residents of the 20th District, I filled out and turned in a form to appeal my property tax bill on my own, without any outside help – a process that McAuliffe himself encourages local residents to do at property tax appeal seminars, even though he has repeatedly voted against proposals to freeze property taxes. Just like when he lied about being a veteran, 20-year politician Mike McAuliffe says one thing publicly and does the opposite when people aren’t looking.

Unlike 20-year politician Mike McAuliffe, I actually understand the strain local homeowners are under to afford rising property taxes and remain in their own homes. But since just last year, McAuliffe voted 18 times against freezing property taxes, and now it appears he wants to get rid of the ability for residents to appeal their property taxes. The thousands of voters I have spoken to at their doors desperately need relief, but McAuliffe keeps thinking of ways to make them pay more.

Mike McAuliffe and Donald Trump are using the same playbook of distracting voters from the issues our neighborhoods are concerned about. McAuliffe is trying to hide his inexcusable record of voting to protect sex offenders, voting against funding to track sex offenders, and using more than a million dollars in campaign contributions from failed Republican Governor Bruce Rauner to try to sweep his lie about being a veteran under the rug.”

The first page of the attachment highlights a property that McAuliffe owned that had a successful property tax appeal applied to it. Further documentation is included in the attachment as well.

The attachment is here.

*** UPDATE 2 *** From the ILGOP’s Steve Yaffe…

Hey Rich,

With regards to Merry Marwig’s statement this morning, if you look at the last page of her own documentation, it shows that Rep. McAuliffe did not appeal his condo’s property taxes. Page thirteen of the document states that “Rebecca Dossman” was responsible for filing the appeal. Dossman filed appeals for every other unit in the building, indicating it was an action taken by the condo association, not McAuliffe.

The difference between Marwig and McAuliffe on this issue is twofold:

First, Marwig personally appealed and McAuliffe did no such thing.

Second, Marwig is directly funded by Mike Madigan, who profits directly from Illinois’ broken property tax system and refuses to reform it. It is ridiculous for Marwig to ever claim to be for lower property taxes while taking money from the career politicians and special interests that have driven tax rates up for decades.

Thanks,
Steven

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